Frank M. Fenton's Biography

Frank Muhleman Fenton, fifth child and first son of Frank L. Fenton, was born in the original family home on Williams Avenue on December 1, 1915. He attended grade school in Williamstown, but crossed over to Marietta, Ohio for his high school work. He entered Marietta College in September, 1932, in the depths of the Depression, and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1936. At Marietta he majored in chemistry, captained the crew, and played center on the Pioneers' 1935-1936 Ohio Conference Championship basketball team. At 6'7" Frank was probably one of the game's first long men. He pledged Delta Upsilon social fraternity and was elected to the Gold Key honorary.

Frank experienced his first real contact with the company while attending Marietta College. For several years he had urged his father to hire him in the summer months, but Frank L. always turned him down on the theory that "other people need the work a lot more than you do. You can pull weeds at home." At length he sought out his Uncle Jim who told him to come to work the next day. Frank observed that night to his parents that he had been "asking the wrong guy" for a job and announced that he was done with weed pulling. He reported to his uncle the next morning and was put to work down by the railroad siding. What did he do? He pulled weeds.

A short time later he was sent up on the roof with a bucket of tar to patch holes. Once, long after he became president, he was asked, "did you start at the bottom and work up?" Frank replied with a chuckle, "no, I started at the top...and worked down."

For nearly four decades, Frank along with his brother Bill headed Fenton Art Glass, and the organization grew from a modest business to a company known worldwide for its innovative products.

Most recently, Frank served as the Fenton Art Glass Historian, giving talks to collector clubs and
doing research on Fenton's many glass products, a role he truly loved.